


"Your Pal, Your Buddy, Your Bucky."

by penmarks



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Other, POV Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, steve and wanda are both in a lot of pain and they finally get to talk about it!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 00:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13752390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penmarks/pseuds/penmarks
Summary: ❝Rumlow said 'Bucky'... and all of the sudden I was a sixteen-year-old kid again in Brooklyn.❞I've always felt like we missed out on something between Steve & Wanda in the time between Vision leaving the room and the meeting with the rest of the ream with Secretary Ross. I imagine her seeing how much Steve is hurting over Bucky being his weak spot and wanting more information. They're both trying to come to terms with what happened in Nigeria, and in this scene, they just have so much in common that I couldn't help but run with this little idea.





	"Your Pal, Your Buddy, Your Bucky."

                                                                                              
  
  
  
Wanda and Steve watched in silence as Vision awkwardly made his way out of the room. Steve's stomach was still in knots. He guessed that Wanda was feeling the same, if not worse.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
Steve was surprised by her question, and all he could do was turn and look at her in confusion for a long moment.  
  
"Am I... yeah, I'm fine, Wanda. Are you all right? We were talking about you. Are you sure you're still up for meeting with Stark? I can just tell him--"  
  
"You look... strange," Wanda said softly. Her eyes were still searching Steve's face. It made him squirm. "No, not like that. It's just... I've never heard you talk about him before, your friend."  
  
"Oh." Steve cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "It's not... it doesn't..."  
  
Could he really say it didn't matter? They had just been talking about why the disaster in Nigeria had been his fault. Everything had almost gone so well. They almost made it out with devastating an entire group of innocent people. But Rumlow had him, he'd hit Steve unexpectedly in just the right place, and it had nearly cost them everything. It still might cost Wanda everything.  
  
"Tell me about him," Wanda said. She scooted over to the edge of the bed until her legs were swinging beside Steve's. "Start from the beginning."  
  
Steve snorted and averted his eyes, a strange heat crawling up his neck and into his cheeks. "I don't know if we have time for that. Maybe another time. Thank you. But we've gotta get downstairs."  
  
Despite his words, neither of them moved. Steve remained still with eyes trained on the floor; he could still feel Wanda's gaze.  
  
"We're all shaken up," Steve said, his voice frying a bit at the end. He didn't remember what he'd wanted to say next.  
  
"Yes," Wanda said, patient. "And you're in pain. So tell me about him."  
  
Steve glanced at the time. The burning in his throat made him want to get up and leave, but the warmth in Wanda's voice kept him planted where he was. It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts. He didn't think he wanted to tell the story from the beginning.  
  
Not here. Not now. Not before he had to face Tony and the others. Not to Wanda, who had already been through so much.  
  
"There's not much to say," he managed.  
  
Wanda scoffed and turned her head toward him. "Somehow I doubt that's true."  
  
Steve fought off a smile and tangled his hands together, studying the dirt that he hadn't managed or bothered to clean from beneath his nails.  
  
"We were friends since the beginning. Almost before I can remember." He looked up and stared absently at Wanda's various posters across the room. He was glad she'd found a home here. "It's hard to find parts of my life that he wasn't a part of."  
  
Steve paused. His chin fell back to his chest. "Well, you know, not until recently. The last few years, obviously..."  
  
"Have been hard."  
  
He tried not to laugh at that, but something that resembled a chuckle slipped past his lips.  
  
"Yeah," he said. "But not because of that. Not just because of that. I mean, look at everything that's happened."  
  
"It would feel much more digestible if you had a lifelong partner by your side. Maybe make it easier to process."  
  
Steve looked up to see that Wanda was now the one who was staring absently across her bedroom. It was the first time he noticed a picture frame sitting on her dresser. The crumpled, faded photo was much too small for the frame and it sat awkwardly in the middle. It was a photo of the entire Maximoff family. Wanda, Pietro, their parents.  
  
A new wave of sickness and pain knotted up in Steve's stomach. He wanted to apologize. Over and over and over... it wasn't fair.  
  
"Yeah," he replied instead. "Yeah, maybe."  
  
That sat in silence for several more moments. Steve stared at his hands while Wanda seemed to take in the decor of her own bedroom. They both looked back at each other at the same moment.  
  
"His death was not your fault either, Steve." Before he could say anything else or question what she meant, Wanda went on. "Pietro sacrificed himself to save a life. Two of them. It will haunt me for the rest of my days. But I don't blame anyone. Least of all any of you."  
  
The burning in Steve's throat was starting to return. They should really head downstairs. He didn't want to. He'd rather sit and talk. Wanda, strangely, seemed to understand.  
  
"Brock Rumlow was not your fault, and whatever happened to your friend wasn't either."  
  
_I wish you knew how wrong you were._  
  
The image of Bucky's fall still haunted him, even now. In his mind, it had only been a few years.  
  
Steve had run out of things to say, but Wanda didn't seem to mind.    
  
"It's like you say," she said as she pushed herself off the bed. Steve followed her with his burning eyes. "You can't save everyone. Luckily, there is still time to save quite a few."  



End file.
